Ronnie Brown: Undervalued?
Gregg Rosenthal and I made two preseason bets last year. The one I lost was total fantasy points between Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams. Though I remained a true Ronnie Brown believer before he exploded in the first seven games of 2007, I strictly adhere to the "Running Back Two Year Major Injury Rule."
When Brown, Philip Rivers, and Carlos Rogers were all enjoying early-season success last fall, Gregg and I also discussed how much ACL surgery has evolved in just the past 5-10 years. No longer a death sentence for football players, it appears to be a mere hiccup.
If there's one position, however, where the hesitation from major knee surgery significantly affects performance, it's running back. Now over a year and half removed from the injury, Brown is a much better bet for consistent production.
When looking at the Tier Three Dynasty running back rankings from last week, I noted that the whole group of veterans had legit question marks. While I can outline significant fantasy concerns for all of them, the best I could come up with for Brown is that Ricky is still around, albeit in a lesser role this season.
One year after placing him on my "do not draft" list, I'm tabbing the contract-year Brown as my early leader on the "undervalued" list. What does everybody think? Will Ronnie Brown be undervalued as a late third-round pick this summer? Can he recapture the magic of October, 2007?
Comments
Ronnie Browns success will rely heavily on how the offensive line has improved. The wildcat was installed because the blocking wasn't all that good. Long was as as steady as could be expected. Groves was signed this off season. Thomas is still recovering from a torn pec muscle and Smiley is coming off 3 surgeries in 5 months. White was drafted for the wildcat. I'm thinking he'll be good, not great. Not because of his ability as much as the offense that will possibly be installed this year.
Posted by: perspective | June 11, 2009 08:10 PM
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